Conditions Of Love
by DragonShadow
Summary: Buttercup has a secret, a secret she would give anything to reveal, but is forced to hide until one day...


There was little she would not have done... nothing she would have denied... if she could only see her hearts desire come to light. She knew however deep in her mind where she kept the most painful knowledge that it could never be... she could never see it come to pass. She knew in her mind that what she thought... what she felt was the epitome of perversion and sickness, things only a twisted mind would come up with. She could not shake these feelings however... she was trapped by her own heart, and there was nothing she could do... except hide.  
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Conditions Of Love  
  
  
  
The day was bright and the breeze was wonderful, but her mind was cast over with doubts and fears that only grew with each passing day. Sometimes she had to physically restrain herself in her bed, to stay in her own room and keep from doing something that might betray her feelings. Still it grew harder, and the shadow loomed even darker. When would it end... when could she rest?  
  
"Hey, are you sure you're feeling alright?" Buttercup's attention snapped back to the present and she looked up at her pigtailed sister. She pushed her thoughts into the back of her mind and nodded back, smirking gruffly.  
  
"Yeah don't get your pigtails in a twist, I'm fine." She closed her eyes, trying to clear her mind as much as she could. At the tender age of eighteen, the three girls were already as mature as they would ever get, and it showed in every aspect of their bodies and mannerisms.  
  
"Well come on, we have to get to our classes." Bubbles told her, taking her hand to pull her up from the ground. She winked playfully and took off bounding toward the school with her light blue dress waving in the wind behind her. Buttercup grumbled and looked down at the ground as she followed behind her sister, taking her time to collect her composure.  
  
When they reached the front hallway they went inside and started to walk down the hall. The hallways were already empty since it was past tie for class to start, Blossom was probably already in her first class of the day. Despite her calm outward demeanor, Buttercup was still fighting with herself.  
  
"Hey Bubbles, can we talk a sec?" Buttercup asked with one hand on her sisters' arm. Bubbles turned back and looked at her in surprise.  
  
"Well we're already late and I don't think we should want to be." Bubbles pointed out. She frowned with worry when she saw her sisters' sullen expression. "Buttercup, come on, what's bothering you?"  
  
"I need to ask you something... not quite sure how though..." Buttercup admitted, more to herself than to her blonde-haired sister. "I need to know how you feel about something... and I know it'll be shocking at first..." She said softly.  
  
"What is it Buttercup? I'll always help you figure things out, what else are sisters for?" Bubbles winked. Buttercup sat for a few minutes, trying to think of the words, but none came, there were no words for this... so she did the only thing she could. She wrapped her arms around Bubbles and pulled her into a passionate kiss, closing her eyes.  
  
Bubbles went completely stiff when she felt this, her eyes widening in shock and surprise. When her sister pulled back she could only stare in wondrous disbelief, putting one hand over her lips as if to confirm what had happened a few moments ago.  
  
"Well? What do you think?" Buttercup stared into her sisters bright blue eyes, so full of shock they were almost fearful. That expression alone made Buttercup regret this decision, she should never have done anything. It was too late to go back now though.  
  
"Late... we're late..." Bubbles took a few steps back, then whirled to walk quickly down the hall. Buttercup made no movements to pursue, staring down at the ground with a wistful sigh. What was she supposed to do now that she'd revealed herself to Bubbles? She could only wait and see what she said after time for reflection...  
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A furious knock on the door roused him from his chair in front of the TV to amble over and open it. Mike Believe was still a good student as far as his classes went, but he was no longer as shy and withdrawn as he had been. This didn't mean, though, that he wasn't still thoughtful and quiet, he just spoke up when he needed to instead of remaining silent at all costs. The cigarette hanging out of his mouth and the shades he wore made a lot of people think he was another punk, but his close friends new otherwise, especially his best friend.  
  
He pulled the door open and stepped back when Bubbles pushed her way through, shaking and disheveled and generally wound up to the point of snapping.  
  
"Mike I just can't believe what's happening, I need to talk to you please, you don't mind do you?" Bubbles pleaded.  
  
"Never, go ahead and take a seat." Mike said around the cigarette as he walked over to the fridge in the kitchen. He got out a can of soda and went back into the living room, handing it to Bubbles. "What happened Bubbles? I don't think I've ever seen you so jumpy." He took a seat on the couch beside her.  
  
"It's Buttercup, I don't know what to do and I've been thinking all day but it's just all a big old blur..." Bubbles replied.  
  
"What happened with Buttercup?" Mike coaxed gently, putting one hand on his lifelong friend's shoulder to try to calm her down. Bubbles took a few sips of the drink and put a hand on her forehead, trying to compose herself.  
  
"We were going to class earlier today and she stopped and turned to me, said she wanted to talk to me about something. I said okay and before I knew it she was kissing me..." Bubbles replied.  
  
"Kissing you? You mean seriously kissing you?" Mike asked.  
  
"On the lips and everything, I was just so surprised I turned and left..." Bubbles told him, taking another sip of her drink. "I'm not sure what I should do or say, I'm just confused..." She admitted.  
  
"Well... I'll tell you what." Mike took the cigarette out of his mouth and put one hand on her shoulder, smiling. "Why don't you stay here for the night and think things over, take a night off. Then tomorrow you can find Buttercup and have a nice long talk about everything." He suggested with a gentle smile.  
  
"Yeah... I guess I really do need to sort this out before I see her... I don't want to hurt her feelings by walking away again." Bubbles replied. She looked up at Mike and returned his smile, putting one hand on top of his. "Thanks Mike..."  
  
"Hey, what else is a guy for?" Mike grinned and winked, prompting a chuckle from Bubbles as he put the cigarette back in his mouth and turned to head into the back rooms. "You'll see Bubbles, it'll all work out." He told her before he disappeared into the back. Sometimes he wished that it would work out between them, but that didn't really matter now.  
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The next day Buttercup found herself wandering through the school hallways almost aimlessly. Bubbles hadn't returned home the night before, and she was sure she was the reason. She had gone too far, she should never have said or done anything. Why did she always do the wrong things?  
  
"Come on folks crowd around, take a nice long look." Princess Morebuck's shrill voice penetrated her thoughts like a whistle right next to her ear. Buttercup glared over at her, but her eyes went wide when she saw a picture tacked to the wall behind her, which was getting many observers. It was a picture of her kissing an obviously stunned Bubbles in the hallway.  
  
Several of the other students turned to stare at her in surprise, almost asking her to say it was fake. Buttercup huffed and stormed up to the picture, ripping it off the wall and whirling on Princess. The arrogant eighteen year old just put her hands on her hips and stared right back.  
  
"What's the big idea huh? Do you enjoy making my personal life public? Huh?" Buttercup demanded angrily.  
  
"Nnnooooo, but I do enjoy making your life miserable, and showing everyone how sick you are is the perfect way to do that." Princess grinned evilly. "Really, not only another girl, but your own sister!" She threw her head back and let out a barking laugh, but Buttercup grabbed her by the shirt collar and yanked her up off the floor, putting them face-to-face.  
  
"You want to say that NOW? Huh?" Buttercup hissed through clenched teeth. Princess stared back with that same smirk on her face, making Buttercup want to wipe it off with a swift fist. She knew better than that though, she knew it would only give Princess the upper hand. "Try a stunt like this again, and I will pin your ass to that wall where the picture was, you got it?"  
  
"We'll see, sicko." Princess sneered. Buttercup growled, but threw Princess to the floor and turned to walk away as fast as she could, away from the stunned and shocked stares of her classmates. She turned to head out to the courtyard for some fresh air since class wasn't supposed to start for a few more minutes. With her hypersensitive hearing she heard the faint click of something from Princess' direction, but she paid it no mind.  
  
When she got outside her eyes widened to see what must have been thousands of sheets of paper raining down from the sky, dropped from a helicopter that hovered just a little ways over the school. Curiously she grabbed one of the papers that floated too close and took a look at it, gasping in shock. It was a copy of the picture Princess had had in the hall, they all were.  
  
"What..." She looked up to see several dozen students outside, with more coming to see what the commotion was about. One by one they grabbed the sheets of paper and took a look. "No! No don't look at them!" Buttercup streaked into the sky in a green flash, trying to grab the pieces of paper that were raining down. She even fried several with her heat-vision, but there was still only one of her and thousands of papers.  
  
"No stop!" She whirled, but already most of the students had expressions of shock plastered on their faces, staring up at her. One by one every face on the ground became the same way, turning to stare up at her in shocked disbelief. Buttercup floated back further into the sky, watching everyone in school turn to stare at her with those confused... accusing looks. Several students burst out laughing and made mocking gestures, playing with the pictures they'd grabbed.  
  
Finally Buttercup whirled and streaked away as fast as she could, leaving a green trail long after she had gone. She put her hands over her eyes as she flew, at once cursing herself and cursing Princess... why could nothing go ever go right?  
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Mike and Bubbles were among the last to emerge into the courtyard with Blossom right behind them. Several of the other students were grinning and playing while still several others had looks of disgust on their faces. "Hey, what's going on out here?" Bubbles asked them. The students turned and gave her an odd look, then walked off, laughing to themselves.  
  
"What on Earth is going on out here?" Blossom demanded. Mike looked down at the ground, spotting a piece of paper on the grass. He kneeled down and picked it up, turning it over as he stood up to get a good look at it. Bubbles gasped and blushed bright red, putting one hand over her mouth while Blossom went wide-eyed staring at it.  
  
"What the... this has to be a fake... right Bubbles?" Blossom asked, but Bubbles didn't respond, staring down at the picture in surprise.  
  
"But there was nobody there... the hallway was empty." Bubbles exclaimed. "Where did Buttercup go?" She ignored Blossom's stunned expression, running up to several others. Mike and Blossom followed her. "Where's Buttercup!?"  
  
"She took off." The student replied, smirking at Bubbles. "I don't know, I don't mind the idea personally." He nudged his friend with his elbow and they both burst out laughing. Bubbles blushed and Mike put one hand on her shoulder, leading her away from them.  
  
"You two stay here alright? I'll go find her." Mike told them.  
  
"I should go too." Blossom replied quickly.  
  
"Keep everyone away from Bubbles, will you?" Mike told her. "Just play along with me here I know what I'm doing." Blossom glared at him angrily, but she wouldn't get nasty to him with Bubbles right beside her. Mike turned and left the school ground with his hands in his pockets, heading to the parking lot. Bubbles had told him the girls' hiding spots once, and for something like this he had a feeling he knew where Buttercup would go...  
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The sun glared down on her, reflected off of the ocean a billion times until it seemed it would surely cook her if she stayed too long. Still she stared out across it, her legs curled up to her chest with her chin resting on her knees. She sniffed and wiped at her eyes, growing at herself even as she did so. Her entire life felt shattered, by now everyone in Townsville would know...  
  
The soft sound of footsteps on the grass behind her alerted her to someone else behind her. "Go away... I'm not in the mood for more mocking..." She said without turning around. The silence grew once again while the figure walked up beside her, sitting down on the grass with one knee up, the other bent to the side and dangling over the edge.  
  
Mike took out a cigarette and put it in his mouth, lighting it and taking a small puff before he spoke. "You know, your sisters are worried about you." He told her.  
  
"I'll bet... along with everyone else in Townsville... worried about my mental state..." Buttercup grumbled.  
  
"Don't worry about them Buttercup, they just hate anything that's not cut and dry, and that's something you've never been." He pointed out.  
  
"This is different... I'm a sick perverted freak of nature..." Buttercup sighed and closed her eyes. "My own sister... what the hell is wrong with me?"  
  
"Hey, now you're anything but a sick perverted freak." Mike replied.  
  
"Did you see them back there? I could see it in all their eyes'... I'm a sick freak who wants her biological sister..." She pounded her fist on the ground, making the mountain quake.  
  
"Bah, what do they know?" Mike countered vehemently. "They don't know anything about you, or what you want, or what you go through." Buttercup looked over at him out of the corner of her eyes. "They're watching from the gallery, spectators who have no stake in it, they can think whatever they want. You're the one who has to deal with the reality. You're the one who has to deal with the pain of being in love so badly and having nothing you can do about it... you're the one who gets hurt because of their stupid ideas."  
  
"It's wrong..." Buttercup began.  
  
"Maybe it is, but that doesn't change the fact that that's the way it is." Mike replied softly, putting one hand on Buttercup's shoulder. "It would be a lot easier if we could choose everything about ourselves, what we think, what we feel, who we love... but we can't." Mike chuckled and shook his head, smirking. "God knows I've tried to change it... but there's nothing I can do either." He sighed and looked down at the ocean, remembering his very brief relationship with Bubbles. In the end she'd just wanted him as a friend, as they always had been. So he was left on the side, still with her but not as he truly wanted...  
  
"Yeah..." Buttercup blinked and looked up at the sky. "Yeah and why should I try to change anyway... if they have a problem with me they can deal with it." She shook her head and smirked, looking down at Mike beside her. "I should just... let Bubbles make her decision... and if she rejects me... then I tried and I move on. If she accepts me..." She trailed off, looking down at the ocean. "Then we're together..."  
  
"There's one way to get the answer..." Mike stood up, holding one hand down to help Buttercup. She took it and let him help her up, though she hardly needed it. "She's at my place... why don't you go on ahead? She's been wanting to talk with you all morning." He told her.  
  
"Okay... I'll go ahead and go meet her." Buttercup smiled at him gratefully. "Who are you here for... me, or Bubbles?" She asked. Mike smiled back and put one finger over his lips. Buttercup shook her head and smiled again. "Either way... thanks." She told him.  
  
"No problem... now go ahead before Bubbles starts worrying, I'll be behind you." Mike told her. Buttercup nodded and took off from the ground, flying through the sky in a flash of green light. She took deep breaths to try to compose herself, but she didn't think anything could calm her down now, just moments before she would finally get her answer.  
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Bubbles waited in Mike's living room, floating around the room in a giant circle so she wouldn't wear a hole in Mike's floor with her pacing. Her mind was racing with thoughts and ideas, though most of all concern for her missing sister. She couldn't believe Princess would pull something like that, she knew how much it would hurt Buttercup.  
  
At the knock on the door Bubbles streaked over under an instant and pulled it open, seeing her brunette sister standing just outside. "Buttercup... hey... um... come in." Bubbles opened the door wider to let her sister in, floating to the side demurely where once she would have jumped in glee and tackled her sister in a hug.  
  
"Mike told me you were here..." Buttercup told her, landing on the floor in front of the couch with her hands crossed over her chest, looking down at the floor nervously. "He... said you wanted to talk to me."  
  
"Yeah..." Bubbles said, moving to stand in front of her sister. "First I'm sorry I walked away yesterday... I didn't know what to do or think... I was confused and surprised." She said. Buttercup nodded silently, so Bubbles continued. "Buttercup do you actually... 'love me' love me?" She asked.  
  
"Yeah..." Buttercup closed her eyes, lowering her head. "Yeah I do... I love you Bubbles..." She blushed to admit it out loud, she wasn't accustomed to such displays of affection, but she'd come too far to be discreet now.  
  
"Well then I guess there's one thing left to do." Bubbles said, putting her hands on her sisters' shoulders. Buttercup waited with her eyes closed... but in a moment she felt another pair of lips pressing against hers. Buttercup opened her eyes to see Bubbles kissing her with her arms wrapped around the brunette puff. So she wrapped her arms around the blonde girl, beginning to kiss her back.  
  
The kiss deepened even more and they fell back on the couch, still holding each other close without a care in the world. So what if the rest of the world thought it wrong? So what if the rest of Townsville might never look at them the same way again... none of that mattered now. They'd always believed growing up that love conquered all... it was true to them then, and it was true to them now, no matter what the circumstances.  
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Mike got home several hours later, going in his living room to find several pieces of furniture in disarray. He smirked and cleaned up a bit, taking off his shades and throwing them on the couch. Curiously he went to the door to the guest room he'd let Bubbles stay in the night before. He opened it just a crack, enough to see two forms lying on the bed limply with two dresses thrown on the floor.  
  
He sighed to himself and ducked out again, closing the door behind him. He shook his head and sat down in the recliner in the center of the room, turning on the TV with a click of the remote. He never had stopped loving Bubbles after their breakup, but for him, seeing her happy with anyone was preferable to watching her be miserable with no one...  
  
THE END 


End file.
